When A Chief Becomes A Father
by Aryea
Summary: The final part in the series of Hiccup growing up. Takes part well after the second movie. Astrid and Hiccup and the people of Berk move on from the battle that tore their tiny tribe apart to begin life anew.
1. Chapter 1

_Well, because you have requested it, here is the final part of my How to train your dragon trilogy. Thank you everyone for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. It will not be as dark as the last one, but that is not to say there won't be some adventures. _

_The song is from the movie How To Train Your Dragon Two._

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><p><em><strong><span>PROLOGUE<span> **_

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><p><em><strong>Let the wind carry us<br>To the clouds, hurry up, alright  
>We can travel so far<br>As our eyes can see**_

A black streak zoomed across a cold, blue sky, through misting white clouds and around the high jagged cliffs that had become synonymous with the northern islands. The now familiar form of Night Fury and rider dipped and raced towards the sea, like an arrow towards a certain prey, then straightened with near impossible speed; brushing the tops of the waves and sending a spray of water several meters wide in every direction.

_**We go where no one goes  
>We slow for no one<br>Get out of our way  
><strong>_

A slight elevation, then a sharp lean to the left had the rider upside down and reaching his hands into the sea to scoop up several fish in the dragon's wake. Another quick spin and both rider and dragon were right-sided once again, then thrusting upwards and, with a flap of large black wings, accelerating back into the sky.

"Great job, bud!" Hiccup tossed the fish to Toothless who happily gobbled them up. "Okay, now let's try out those new fins of yours. Let's take a turn through Hel's Corridor."

It was unusual to see a Night Fury thoroughly appalled, but Toothless managed it more and more often since meeting this troublesome human. It was obvious that his rider had finally lost his mind and the dragon fiercely announced his protest, even as he was guided towards the dreaded path of twisted and jagged rocks that even the dumbest of birds steered clear of.

"It'll be fine, bud!"

_Fine my one-finned tail, you Gronkle-minded toe-wart! You're trying to kill us again!_

Hiccup ignored his dragon's urgent rumblings. "We can do this, it won't be like the last time, I promise."

_**I'm awake when up in the skies  
>There's no break up so high, alright<br>Let's make it our own,  
>Let's savor it<strong>_

Toothless tried to turn back, but it was much harder to recover himself with a yak-headed, pencil-sized human directing his tail fin. Sometimes, just sometimes, he wished he had decided to keep that other tail on him full time.

If his rider got injured who would feed him fish and scratch his belly and give him warm hugs? Besides, that the golden-haired mate would be really upset, and she was scarier than a Bewilderbeast when disturbed.

No, it was for his rider's own good. They couldn't do this. It was simply too dangerous!

"Toothless!"

_Whine my name all you want, Hiccup, I am doing what is best for you. If you die I'll starve and there won't be any more cheese, so please listen to me!_

Toothless pulled his wings in and they started to drop at a ferocious rate.

"Hey! Hey! Toothless, this isn't funny! Come on! Toothless, open your wings! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

_**We go where no one goes  
>We slow for no one<br>Get out of our way**_

Toothless opened his wings just a few feet from the water and they rose again.

Hiccup lay against the dragon's back, trying to catch his breath. "Why..._why_ did you do that, Toothless?"

_Because you won't listen to me, fish brains!_

"Come on, Buddy." Hiccup rubbed the top of Toothless' head. "You gotta trust me, we can do this. Mom said that these new fins will make you do tighter turns, we gotta test it right? We have to know your maneuverability in case..." Hiccup grew quiet

Toothless understood what his rider didn't want to say. In case there was another battle. In case they lost more loved ones. He did not want to have another time like that either, he had lost friends as well, but he knew that most humans were savages and would no doubt cause bloodshed once again for no good reason.

_Fine! Insane boy, let's go risk our lives then. If I am to die I would rather die with you_.

Toothless widened his wings and turned north again. Their speed increased and he could feel his rider lying almost flat against him, their bodies becoming one. This was his favorite way to fly with his boy, where they could feel each others breath and heartbeat. This was what it meant to belong and to have a family.

_**We go where no one goes  
>We slow for no one<br>Get out of our way  
><strong>_

Toothless popped his new fins as they hit the first jagged marker, and flew in a race of wind and exhilaration. His rider crowed as they flew, in and out, around and above the dangerous stones that made up Hel's Corridor. Moving as one, breathing as one, curling their bodies to fit through the tightest holes, then springing outwards and banking hard to the left, the right and down again in a dizzying display of aerial acrobatics.

The edge of one of the rocks clipped Toothless' wing, which immediately knocked him off balance. Hiccup tried to recover and pull up, but then they broadside another rock. They began to spiral out of control towards the sea, an assortment of jagged rocks, and a graveyard of broken ships that had been crushed by Hel's Corridor over the years.

Hiccup frantically tried to counter their spin, but their collision with the rocks had bent the frame of Toothless' tail and it wasn't fanning out correctly. For the second time in his life he had to crawl backwards over his dragon and pull the leather tail fin taught. It was enough for Toothless to regain some balance and avoid being impaled by a broken ship mast with only inches to spare

Toothless flapped his wings furiously, trying to regain altitude as his rider tried to bend and fan his fin from the back, but it was much harder to judge what position was needed when you were riding backwards on a dragon and couldn't see where you were going. When Hiccup yanked a little too hard the tail rod snapped.

"Oh craaaaaaaapp!"

_**We slow for no one  
>We go where no one goes<br>We go where no one goes **_

And once again they were falling and spinning. Toothless caught his rider, who had immediately fallen off when they changed direction, and held him in his arms as he braced for impact; at least they had managed to get over land again. They hit a field of grass at about forty-miles an hour, throwing foliage, dirt and debris as their forward momentum left a path through the field until finally came to a stop.

"Are we dead?" Hiccup's muffled voice asked from beneath the protection of his dragon's arms and wings.

Toothless huffed, tiredly, opened his body and let the boy crawl out.

"Whew!" Hiccup winced, then straightened. "See, buddy. Told you we had nothing to worry abo..." His words were cut off as Toothless wing swat him, flattening him to the ground. "Hey!"

_Stupid! Moron! Idiot! Why do I listen to you? Why are you always trying to kill me? I want two baskets of fish for this, no three...no...Five! And an entire block of cheese!_

"Toothless!" Hiccup tried to push the wing off him but it was useless, it was like being covered by a giant, rubber tarp. "Come on, don't be that way! We did good, up until the end...oooff!" A dragon's foot had been added to the pressure of the wing. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry! Okay?"

Toothless finally let his rider up and glared at him.

"Come on, don't be mad." Hiccup reached his hand towards Toothless, startled when the dragon bared his teeth. "Oh, so you're gonna be like that huh?" He grinned. "Well two can play that game. Come on, gimme all ya got!"

The chance to play always won over a dragon's anger and so Toothless pounced. They wrestled back and forth, Toothless was careful not to hurt his rider, then suddenly someone called Hiccup's name.

"Snotlout?" Hiccup scrambled to his feet as Hookfang descended beside them. "What's wrong?"

"It's time, dude! The baby is coming!"

"What?" Hiccup climbed atop Toothless, then remembered that the dragon had a broken tail fin. "Oh no, I can't ride him!" He wouldn't leave Toothless behind, not for this.

"We got ya covered!"

Barf and Belch swooped down and between the two dragons they got Hiccup and Toothless back to his house.

"Astrid!"

Valka intercepted him in the living room with two bracing hands. "Wait outside, this is no place for you, son."

"But...Astrid...is she okay? And the baby...aren't...isn't it early yet?" It had only been seven months!

"Don't you worry, Ingrid and I have it covered, you men stay outside." She caught Toothless trying to sneak by her and up the stairs, and yanked him by the ear. "That means you too! No men or dragons allowed."

Toothless whined as he heard his rider's mate cry out. He growled and whined again, but Hiccup caught his bridal. "Come on, bud. We...we can't help with this part."

Outside, his friends sat chatting as their chief and his dragon paced back and forth outside the house. A small crowd of locals gathered, many bringing pots of food, blankets for the newborn and well wishes.

Hiccup was worried. It was still early to have the baby and they had already lost one child in the battle with Drago. What if this one...what if they were about to lose another?

He heard Astrid cry out again and it pierced his heart, but then there was the distinct cry of a new born babe. A cheer rose in the crowd as Hiccup bolted to the door, only to find his mother, grinning on the other side.

"Mom! What..."

"Oh Hiccup, it's a..."

"Valka! Come, hurry! Hurry!"

"What is it?" Hiccup demanded, worried. "What's wrong?"

"Stay here," Valka ordered and raced back upstairs.

"Oh Gods!" Was it Astrid? Was it their baby? What was happening? Why would Ingrid have called out like that? What was happening? "Please! Please, don't take them from me, please!"

He dropped to his knees in the doorway and prayed to Odin, to Thor, to whoever was listening to keep his wife and child safe. Toothless sat beside him, bowed his head and neither boy nor dragon noticed the silence that over came the crowd as all those who had gathered, his friends, his people and even their dragons knelt behind him or bowed their heads to join their prayers to his.

Please, Hiccup prayed as tears of fear and frustration filled his eyes. I'm not ready to let them go. Dad, help me, please. Save them, save my family, please.

In the silence another cry was heard and everyone lifted their heads surprised. A moment later, Valka started down the stairs, wiping her hands and grinning.

"Come see to your wife, Hiccup."

Hiccup and Toothless rose and bounded up the stairs as if a demon were behind them, and then he stopped in stunned silence as he entered their bedroom area and looked at his beautiful young wife lying in their bed with _two_ bundles of joy on either side of her.

"W...what?" Hiccup half stumbled to the bed, glad for the steady arm of his mother as she guided him down beside Astrid.

"There were three," Ingrid announced, softly as she rinsed her hand in the basin behind them. "You've twins, Chief."

"T...two?" Hiccup continued to stare at Astrid and his...children. "We...we have...two?"

Astrid, while obviously exhausted glowed with happiness as she carefully picked up the first bundle beside her. "This is your daughter, Hiccup."

Hiccup cradled the precious cargo and stared down at the shock of red hair and deep blue eyes that stared back at him. "H...Hi," he whispered softly and instantly felt a shock to his heart. "Oh...oh, my Gods, Astrid, she...she's so...so small and...and beautiful and...just...just..." Perfect. She was perfect, with her ten little toes and ten little fingers.

Toothless whined and sniffed at the child, then purred as the girl seemed to focus on him and smiled. His ears twitched and his tongue lolled happily as he looked from Hiccup to the child, then back again.

_Did you see that? It smiled at me! What is it? Can I play with it? Can it sleep in my bed?_

"She's not a toy," Hiccup reminded, reading the Night Fury's expression. "This is my daughter, Toothless. This is my..." He swallowed hard at the emotion welling up inside of him. "Our child, mine and Astrid's. You're an uncle."

Toothless didn't know what that meant, but he pranced around the room, happily.

"Babe?" Astrid began and when he looked at her the breath left her body for a moment at the overwhelming love and joy in his eyes. She blinked several times to dispel her own tears, then offered him the second bundle. "This...is your son."

Valka gently removed the baby girl from her son's stunned embrace and watched him accept his son and heir.

Hiccup had told himself that it didn't matter, that any child, male or female would be fine as long as it was healthy, but somehow, holding his son in his arms made it matter. It made it matter very, very much.

He carefully pushed back the child's swaddling clothes and saw a full head of blond hair and his father's eyes. "Oh, Dad."

A son. He had a son, a man to carry on his father's name. Finally, finally he no longer felt like a disappointment to his father. Finally, he had done something right, something his father would be proud of.

The tears fell then, as he gently kissed the boy on the forehead. "Thank you for surviving," he whispered, and then he laid his hand on the girl his mother held. "Thank you both so much for having the strength to be with us."

At that statement, everyone in the room started crying and Toothless started whining and winding around them, worried.

"It's okay, bud," Hiccup said with a choked laugh. "We're okay."

"Are you...happy, Hiccup?" Astrid asked, shyly, although she could already see the truth in her husband's eyes.

"Happy...doesn't even begin to describe it, Astrid." Still cradling his son, he leaned down and kissed his wife with all the joy he could muster. "I love you. Thank you."

She flushed happily.

"Well, Chief," Ingrid beamed at him. "What are to be their names? Or shall we wait for an official ceremony?"

"No, no we can name them now." He smiled again at Astrid. "You had names picked out, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but it's not up to me, you're the Chief and..."

"Oh shut up! You know I'm horrible at it, now give our children names, wife!"

She laughed and then winced, because she was still sore. "Will, I thought if we had a girl, Ariel would be nice."

Hiccup carefully settled his son back in Astrid's loving arms, then accepted his daughter again from his mother. "Ariel," he mused and nodded. "Well, hello, Ariel Astrid Haddock. Welcome to the family."

Astrid blushed at the honor. "There's only one name that would be right for our son, Hiccup."

"Stoick," Hiccup said quietly, watched his mother tear up again. "I agree, but as his middle name not his first name. I loved dad, but...living up to him was...is hard. I don't want our son to face that pressure."

"Then what shall we use for his first name?"

"Aiden."

Astrid blinked. "That's not a name I have ever heard before, where does it come from?"

Hiccup slipped his finger in to caress his son's tiny cheek. "It was Fishlegs' real name."

"Oh babe." Astrid carefully sat up and slipped her free arm around him, each of them holding a child as they embraced. "Then it's perfect."

"So Aiden Stoick Haddock," Hiccup announced as he pulled back and glanced down at his daughter. "And Ariel Astrid Haddock. Welcome to Berk."

"Hey, Chief!" Tuffnut called up." Is everything okay?"

Hiccup wiped his eyes. "Yeah, be down in a minute!" He turned to his mother. "Will you help me introduce your grandchildren, Mom?"

"It would be my honor, son."


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks everyone for the reviews to this, the final story in my trilogy. During this story the kids will be growing up, so I will have to skip a few years in between; after all, it isn't all about the newborn things, but how Hiccup develops as a father. There will be a additional plot to the kids, of course, so we can see how life on Berk has also developed. Anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy it._

_This chapter takes place three years after the birth of the twins. Please review if you like it._

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><p>Hiccup woke with a start and lay quietly to listen for what might have awakened him. All he could hear was the gentle sound of Toothless snoring in the other half of the loft. He stared at the ceiling in the darkness, then realized he was thirsty and carefully rose from the bed. Astrid moaned and reached for him in sleep, but she did not wake.<p>

He slept with his leg and trousers on most evenings, so he just needed to pull on a tunic as a barrier to the cold, as he quietly walked across the loft. His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, but he was so familiar with his house, he didn't need to light a candle or lantern. He watched as two large, green glowing eyes opened and Toothless' head popped up.

"I'm okay, bud, just getting a drink." Hiccup then noticed a small shape atop the Night Fury's paws and scowled. "You've got to stop letting him do that, Toothless." Hiccup slowly bent to pick up his sleeping son, and the three-year-old immediately curled into his father's arms.

Toothless whined softly and pouted as he laid his head back on his paws.

Hiccup slid Aiden back into his bed opposite Toothless' pallet, tucked the covers around him and smoothed his hand over the short crop of golden hair covering his son's head. He was a sickly child from the beginning, and there were a few times that it appeared the boy wouldn't survive his early years, but he managed to make it through.

He was walking and eating on his own, mostly, but he still didn't speak. Astrid worried over that, knowing how difficult it would be for their son as he grew older, but having grown up with a stigma himself Hiccup assured her Aiden would be fine. He'd speak when he was ready, and they would just have to wait and not rush him.

"Daddy?"

Hiccup turned towards the other bed in the room and leaned down to smile at his son's twin sister Ariel, who was the polar opposite of her brother. She was already tall for her age, ate like a horse and often had to be strictly corralled when she was outside lest she get into everything. She was a rambunctious, carefree child and everyone adored her.

"You should be asleep."

It had been a shock to realize that when Astrid had miscarried she had actually been carrying triplets. Two of the children had survived the war with Drago, although his son was more frail than his sister and seemed to catch colds and fevers far too easily which was probably due to the trauma that Astrid had sustained.

"I had a bad dream."

"Don't chew on your hair, love." Hiccup gently pulled the strand of red hair away from her mouth; she had received his coloring whereas her brother looked like Astrid. "What was your dream about?"

"The shrooms were chasing me."

"Well, you know, Toothless loves mushrooms so next time they chase you, call him and he'll eat them all up before they can get you, okay?"

"Kay." She pulled another stand of hair into her mouth. "Can I sleep with you and Mama?"

"No. Big girls sleep in their own bed." He pulled the hair away again. "This is not food, Ariel."

"I'm scared."

"Scared of what?"

"The shrooms."

"Shrooms can't hurt you." He leaned down and kissed her. "Now go back to sleep."

"Kay." She yawned widely and settled back down. "Nighty."

He caressed her hair lovingly. "Nighty."

He smiled, opened the door to the stairs then headed down to pour himself a cup of milk. Finishing it off, he rinsed it, wiped it and put it back in the cupboard, just as his Mother stepped out into the room.

"Hiccup?"

"Just me, Mom," he said as he crouched and put some more wood on the fire.

Valka shuffled over to him in her night gown and her cloak, as it was quite chilly in the house, and settled in the rocker Tuffnut had made for Astrid. "Are you okay?"

He sat opposite her. "Yes, just woke up thirsty." He smirked. "Aiden was curled up with Toothless again."

She smiled. "I may curl with him too if this cold snap doesn't cut us a break soon, I'm sure he's warmer."

"Do you need some more furs?"

She shook her head. "No, in the bed I am plenty warm, it's just when I get out that I freeze!"

He nodded and banked the fire so it would last for several hours at least.

"Son, are you tired?"

"Not really." In fact, now that he was awake he was considering doing some work. "Why?"

"Well, I have something I'd like to talk to you about."

"Okay." He picked up the kettle, put it on and added too scoops of tea to a couple of cups. "This will warm us up then."

Valka pulled her blanket further around her, watched as her son prepared their tea. He was growing a beard, not a big one like his father's, just a little red tuft below his lower lip and a thin line of hair across his chin that actually quite suited him.

He had matured quite nicely these last few years, of course he'd rather been forced into it after all that had happened with Drago and Astrid. Still, her son was the same in most respects. Yes, he was more serious and certainly more confident in his abilities, but Astrid could still make him blush like twelve-year-old, and he was still a thrill seeker when it came to riding that dragon of his.

After recovering from the battle three and a half years ago that had almost decimated their clan and their island, Hiccup had managed to get life in Berk back to normal. He managed things the way a proper chief was supposed to, the way his father had before him, by being hands on and available to anyone and everyone at any time of the day. He made good, but sometimes difficult choices for his people and they appreciated him for it. He was the most respected person in the village, and after defeating Drago, he had also managed to garner the respect of most of the tribes as well.

They had formed another peace treaty with the Berserkers, who had decided they did not want to go up against Berk a second time, and that had led to several more offers of treaties from the outlining islands.

Hiccup had tossed aside his modestly and taken advantage of everyone's initial admiration, to set up trade routes which provided many of the tribes with a continuing supply of goods and services. He had enlisted trader Johann to establish these routes, and Johann had become so successful that he'd had to hire several other traders to meet demand. Johann, of course, was still the only one who delivered to Berk, he would not allow any other ship to tend to those he now considered family.

Valka accepted her cup of tea as Hiccup settled on a chair by the table. "So, what did you need to talk to me about?"

"Well, I was wondering how...how you would feel about..." She paused, sipped her tea, then played with her cup.

"About?"

"Well, I...I've been working with someone for awhile now, you know in my leather-working shop and... I mean, I..." She chewed her lower lip. "I loved your father, Hiccup."

"I know you did, Mom." He reached forward and put his hand on her knee. "And he loved you."

She swallowed, nodded. "Yes, yes he really did." She took another sip.

"What is it?" Hiccup asked, quietly. "You're not usually this hesitant in speaking your mind."

"No, I suppose not, it's just that...well...I don't know how to say this, Hiccup. I loved Stoick, I will always love him and sometimes, even now, I still miss him so much, but..."

"He'd want you to be happy, Mom."

Her eyes shot up in surprise, then her eyes filled with tears. "You...Do you really think so?" She shook her head. "I...I betrayed him, Hiccup. I betrayed both of you and I can never, ever make up for that..."

"Mom." Hiccup pulled her cup out of her hands, knelt before her and took her cold hands in his. "He forgave you. I forgive you. Please stop punishing yourself."

"I...It's just, I left and then...then I hurt you again when I went after Drago."

She lowered her head, ashamed, as she remembered the scolding she had gotten from Astrid days after the battle. She had never seen the young woman so angry, but she'd had a right to be. She'd managed to mend the fences with her daughter-in-law, but at the time Astrid had been quite unforgiving, going so far as to threaten Valka that if she ever did something like that to Hiccup again, she would personally hunt her down and carve out her heart. Valka took the threat seriously and while they were back to being a family, she and Astrid weren't as close as they had been in the beginning and she regretted that.

A single tear slid down her cheek.

"Mom." Hiccup caught her tear with his thumb. "Staying alone and unhappy won't erase the past. Life is too short to be trapped by regret. I know you didn't mean to hurt me, or Dad, or anyone. What you did was out of love, I know that."

"I don't want to disappoint you again, Hiccup. It seems that's all you've had in your life, especially from those closest to you and..."

"You have _never_ disappointed me, Mom. You could never..." He sighed heavily. "I love you. You're my mother. I may get upset with you sometimes, or disagree with your choices, but in the end you are here, right where I want you to be. I didn't have you for almost twenty years, please don't spoil the time we have now by living in the past."

She stared at him. "You really wouldn't be upset? If I...If I..."

"If you loved someone other than Dad?"

Another tear fell and she lowered her eyes, nodded.

"No, because I want you to be happy too."

"I just...your father was...everything and...such a g...great man..."

"Yeah, he was." Hiccup rose, pulled her up and into his arms. "And we won't ever forget him. But, Mom, if your heart beats for someone new, someone good and kind, of course it's okay. Of course Dad would want that for you."

She clung to him. "You...you say that and you don't even know who it is."

"Fin is already family, Mom."

Pulling back, she gaped at him.

"I'm the Chief of Berk." He wiggled his eyebrows comically. "I have eyes and ears everywhere. I know all and see all."

"Tuffnut?"

"He really can't keep a secret," Hiccup smirked. "But even without his gossiping, I could tell just by looking at the two of you."

She blushed. "And...you don't mind?"

"No, why would I? He's proven himself to be a great warrior and a loyal friend. He raised Astrid on his own, that alone awards him my respect and as long as he makes you happy, I have no problems at all with him."

"Do you think Astrid will object?"

"I don't think so." Hiccup settled back at the table. "But why didn't Fin come and talk to me himself about this?"

"He was afraid to, Hiccup. He respected and admired Stoick so much and he was concerned you might be offended if he asked for my hand."

Hiccup recalled how nervous he had been when he had gone to Fin to ask for Astrid's hand in marriage. The older Viking had not made it easy on him either. "You tell him to come and ask me properly, and maybe I won't have him boiled in oil for besmirching my mother's virtue."

She gasped. "Hiccup!" When she saw the twinkle in his eyes she laughed and smacked his shoulder. "Oh you!" She threw her arms around him again. "Thank you, my dear, sweet boy."

"Not a boy..."

She smiled, kissed him and patted his cheek. "You will always be my baby boy, I don't care how old you are."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well...let's just keep that little tidbit between the two of us, okay?"

"I love you, son."

"Love you back."


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey everyone, thanks so much for the great reviews! This may be my last update for awhile, I'll be out of town for two weeks, and then Christmas is almost here so will be super busy, but I will try and get one more chapter up at least between now and then._

_Don't forget to check out **The Twelve Days of Hopelessness** crossover story that I'm writing with** Incarnate Firefly!**_

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><p>Hiccup and Toothless soared over Berk, the sun was just starting to rise and their small island village was slowly beginning to wake up. This was really the only time he got to fly with his dragon properly, because his duties kept him on the island for most of the day and evenings, which meant a lot of walking or just a few short flights from one side to the other.<p>

This time of the morning was also when he did his best thinking. As the father of twins and the current Chief of Berk, his days were incredibly busy, and so many worries and considerations plagued his mind, that this time of the morning seemed to be the only chance he had to get away from all of it. Not that he resented his position, but he was still young and his youthful days of riding dragons, seeking adventure and searching out new islands was not so very far in his past that he didn't miss it still.

He couldn't be happier with the kids and Astrid, and with all they had managed to accomplish for Berk so far. Really, he had everything a man could ask for, and yet...that need to find more was still there. He supposed it always would be and he wondered if his father ever felt the same way? Had Stoick put his own dreams aside to marry Valka and become Chief? It hardly seemed so, but then he only knew his father as a Chief, and they had never managed proper communication, even after dragons came to Berk as friends.

He had heard a few stories from Gobber about his dad but most of them were battle related or in regards to things he did as a Chief. Gobber rarely talked about what Stoick was like as a kid or teenager. He debated asking his mother about Stoick, but Valka sometimes seemed so sad when his father's name came up that he didn't have the heart to cause her further suffering. Besides, now with the interest of Fin, he didn't want to increase the guilt she was feeling by reminding her of her dead husband.

According to the island records, he was the youngest Chief of Berk, yet one more barrier he had broken, one more record he had exceeded; yet it meant nothing to him. He was the Chief only because his father had been killed by his reckless need to pursue a madman and force a peace where there could be none.

After running his dragon and himself through their paces, Toothless perched on the broad limestone shoulder of Stoick the Vast and Hiccup slid off to walk across to the other shoulder. Sitting with his legs dangling, the pair greeted the morning with their renowned Chief.

"Morning Dad," Hiccup began as he had so many times over the years since he had lost his father. "Looks like it will be another clear but cold day for Berk. Aiden still isn't talking, I'm beginning to get worried. We know his voice works, because we've heard him cry and laugh, and he can hear us fine. I tell Astrid that he's just not ready yet, but I'm worried. He's so small, Dad. A fresh wind could carry him away."

Toothless snorted, then sniffed his armpit and Hiccup smirked.

"No comments from the peanut gallery." He sighed as the sun steadily rose above the cool sparkling waters of the sea. "Is this how you felt with me? Were you as worried all the time that I was too fragile to survive, that I would break if you hugged me too hard or might pass away in my sleep?"

He pondered his question, seriously. Stoick's protectiveness had always been the biggest problem between them, because it had caused him to believe that he wasn't good enough to be his father's son. He didn't want to do that to Aiden, didn't want his son to ever doubt how much he loved him, or that he was free to be who he was, exactly how he was. It was odd, realizing now that those same feelings he had resented from Stoick he was now struggling with in regards to his own son.

Gods, he missed Gothi. She'd be able to reassure him one way or the other, he was sure of that. He still had her chest, but had been unable to bring himself to open it, even after all this time. Despite their expanding tribe and the need for more housing, he had refused to allow anyone to use her hut atop the sea-facing peak. They had shut it up, secured it, and wrapped it with mourning ribbon, and that was how he intended it to remain as a tribute to her memory.

As if the mere thought of Gothi triggered a response, one of the Terrible Terrors that had so adored the elder suddenly landed beside Hiccup, climbed into his lap to turn around three times before settling down for a snooze. Hiccup smiled and petted the dragon as he turned his gaze back to the sea.

"Is this all there is, Dad?" he asked, quietly. "Is this everything?"

He knew it wasn't, knew that this was just one small part of an all encompassing world of miracles that he would probably never see. But, he was okay with that, because he had Astrid and the kids, and he was finally starting to enjoy being a Chief to his people. So, giving up on dreams wasn't always a bad thing, it was simply necessary to continue on with life.

"Figured I'd find ye here."

Hiccup focused on the large Hotburple dragon as it flew closer and nodded at the Blacksmith. "Morning, Gobber."

Gobber nodded back as he had Grump hovered beside the statue. "Ye know, ye get that same look yer father always had when he was thinkin' too hard."

"Yeah?" Hiccup was oddly pleased to have something in common with Stoick. "Well, there sure is a lot to think about as Chief."

"Sure, and I have no doubt those things were always on his mind, but he'd get up before dawn and walk up to the peak only when he was thinking of one specific thing."

"Oh? What was he thinking about?"

"You."

Hiccup blinked, startled.

"He was always worried about you, Hiccup, and before dawn was the only chance he had the time to focus on those thoughts."

Hiccup looked down at the tiny dragon in his lap, felt his heart contract almost painfully. "I caused him a lot of grief, huh?"

"You caused him a lot of worry, sure, but it wasn't yer fault. He...it killed him whenever he thought you might get hurt or he might lose you as he did yer mum."

"Because I was weak."

"Because you were his son and he loved ye more than life itself."

Hiccup considered that for a moment, nodded. He understood that now, because he felt the same about Aiden and Ariel. There was nothing he would not do for his children. "I came up here to talk to him about Aiden. I guess, I finally get why he was so worried about me."

"Aiden will be fine, just like you were. Yer dad was over protective of ye, and I cannae fault him for it, but you know that strength and perseverance doesn't only come from size and dexterity. You and Astrid are doin' just fine."

"I just wish he would talk, Gobber. I wish..." He sighed and realized he was doing exactly what his father had done to him; mentally forcing his desires onto his son. "No. I know he'll speak when he's ready, and...and even if he doesn't, we'll all learn to live with it."

"I'm sure he'll be talkin' soon," Gobber assured, confidently. "With three women in the house the boy probably figures he can't get a word in edgewise."

Hiccup grinned. "Yeah, that could be one way to look at it." For himself, he loved having Astrid and his mother and daughter there. He was more than content to have a house full of females.

He realized that the sun was almost all the way up and he would be late for breakfast if he didn't leave now. After waking the Terrible Terror, he sent the tiny beast on its way then climbed aboard Toothless and lifted off his father's statue.

"Want to join us for breakfast?"

Gobber snorted. "I ate hours ago," he fibbed then grinned. "G'wan then, get on to yer family."

"Okay, see you later, Gobber."

"Try and get by the forge sometime today if you can. I got a new thingamiajig I want ya to look at."

"I'll try." Hiccup waved and flew off.

They landed outside his house and he hopped down, just as Astrid opened the door.

"You're late."

"I'm sorry."

She smiled as he and Toothless stepped inside, she knew Hiccup needed an hour in the mornings just for him and his dragon, but she liked to tease him on occasion.

"Morning, Mom."

Valka smiled at him as she set their drink tankards on the table with the rest of the food; the kids were already settled in their chairs.

Ariel was well into her breakfast, but Aiden, as usual, simply pushed his food around on his plate.

"Aiden, please try to eat, sweetheart," Astrid encouraged as she reached across the table, selected some of the eggs from his plate and held it to his mouth. The boy simply stared at her with those wide green eyes that were so much like his father's. "You have to eat so you can grow up to be big and strong, right?"

"That's a total myth," Hiccup smirked as he pulled Aiden's plate towards him, lifted the boy out of his chair and settled him on his lap. "I ate like a horse and look at how I turned out."

Astrid giggled. "I stand corrected."

He pulled apart some of his bread and buttered it. "He doesn't seem to care for eggs, so let's eat something else with it to make them tasty." He put some of the egg on the bread, held it to Aiden's mouth and his son opened obediently, never taking his eyes off his father's face.

"Is that better?" Hiccup asked as the boy chewed, then opened his mouth for more. Hiccup repeated the process.

"He reminds me of an injured chick," Valka sighed as she watched the Chief of Berk feed her grandson, in between taking bites of his own breakfast. "I worry about his lack of appetite."

"Well, he usually eats for his daddy," Astrid said, affectionately as she watched her two boys. "And Ingrid said that some kids are just picky about what they eat." She smiled at Ariel who had finished her plate and was now chewing on her hair. Astrid pulled the hair out of her daughter's mouth, and replaced it with a slice of apple from her own plate. "And food will never go to waste while his sister's around."

Ariel grinned and chewed through the piece of apple in seconds, then put her hand out for more.

"She'll be as big as Gobber she keeps that up," Hiccup teased as Aiden finished off his bread and eggs.

"Well, she's a Chief's daughter, she needs to be strong."

Hiccup grinned and tried to tempt Aiden with a piece of fish. "No?" he asked when Aiden turned his head away. "Just a little?"

Toothless nosed his way between Hiccup and Valka, whined at Aiden, then looked at the small plate of cheese, and back at Aiden. _You eat, me eat?_

"Toothless wants a treat. If you eat some of your fish, you can give him one."

"Should you really be bribing the child?' Valka chuckled, amused.

"A good Chief knows how to negotiate," he retorted, making his mother laugh.

Toothless whined again and wiggled his butt anxiously.

"Oh, Aiden, he _really_ wants that cheese."

Aiden looked from the dragon, to the cheese, to the fish on his father's fork, debating. Finally he opened his mouth and accepted the food, chewed then reached over the table for the plate of cheese.

"Just one," Hiccup said as he pulled the plate close so his son could reach it.

Aiden studied the plate and selected the biggest piece to present to the waiting Night Fury. Toothless gently accepted it, careful of the tiny fingers that held his treat. He gulped it down, smacked his lips, and then looked at the cheese again and back at Aiden.

Aiden reached for more cheese and Hiccup held the plate away.

"Hey, that's not the rule, buddy."

Aiden scowled, and again debated his choice thoroughly before he accepted another bite of fish, then reached for the cheese again. Hiccup let him pick another piece to give to Toothless.

"At least it's a joint effort," Astrid grinned, as she rose, collected their plates and ruffled Toothless' head as she walked around the table. "Thanks, sweetie."

Toothless purred, then gently nudged Aiden for a caress as well. Aiden leaned forward to hug the Night Fury far enough that Hiccup had to hold him by the waist to stop him from falling on his head.

"Alright, let's finish up and then Toothless and I have to go to work."

Hiccup managed to get Aiden to eat another piece of toast and one small bite of apple before the boy refused any more by hiding his face in the crook of his father's shoulder.

"You did such a good job, Aiden," Astrid assured as retrieved their plates, set them in the wash bucket, then took her son as her husband rose to his feet. "Daddy has to go to work now."

Hiccup kissed Aiden then a tiny red-headed blur launched at him from across the table and he caught his daughter in his arms. "Don't _do_ that!" he warned her affectionately as he gave her a kiss and a squeeze then handed her off to his mother. He was scared to death one of these days he would not catch her.

He moved back to the door with Toothless, followed by Astrid, who balanced Aiden on her hip. "The Ongulson's have been asking about building an extension on their house," he said. "But Vale Thorrason is contesting, claiming it will make it too close to his house. Can you get them to agree on a middle ground?"

She nodded. "Sure, Vale just likes to fuss because he's lonely and, since he's filled all his boat orders, is also bored. I'll talk too Thelma Ongulson and get her to convince her husband to let Vale help build the extension and pay him with some of her yummy baked goods."

Hiccup smiled, leaned down to give her a peck on the cheek and opened the door to let Toothless out. "See, that's why you're my right hand. You know everything."

"And don't you forget it!" Astrid grinned as Valka joined her in the doorway and Ariel bolted out to latch onto Toothless' tail.

"Bumpy bumpy!" she squealed and Toothless carefully lifted his tail, and her, off the ground, then gently set her down on her backside with a thump. "Again!" He did it twice more, lifting her higher each time, and then she crawled up his tail and settled on the saddle.

Hiccup scowled and playfully poked her shoulder. "Excuse me, Miss. I believe you're in my seat."

"I go ride with daddy and Tooty."

"Not today, my love." Hiccup plucked her from the saddle and hugged her close; he loved the way she felt in his arms, the way she smelled and the gentle rhythm of her heartbeat against his chest. Was there anything in the world better than this? "I'll give you one tomorrow, okay?"

"Promises?"

"Promises." He kissed her and set her down, only to have her scurry around to wrap her arms around Toothless neck.

"Belly boom!"

Toothless rose on his back legs so she was dangling from his neck, gently wrapped his paws around her and fell backwards so she landed with a controlled flop on his belly. She stabbed at his stomach with a pretend sword, his feet shot up straight, went slack, and then he turned his head to the side with his tongue out as he closed his eyes.

"You killed him again?" Hiccup rubbed his chin as he witnessed the death scene. "Well, now I guess I'll have to get another dragon to fly."

Ariel's eyes widened and she slid awkwardly off Toothless' belly to push her tiny hands against his head. "Tooty?" She lifted one eyelid, no response. "Tooty, wake up." She pulled on his lolling tongue and suddenly got a quick kiss all the way up her body, which made her squeal with delight.

"Oh thank the Gods, he's okay!" Astrid cried, dramatically, grinning at her giggling child. "You brought him back to life, Ariel. Great job!"

"Alright my little battle queen!" Hiccup caught her around the ribs and tickled her, then sighed as she snuggled against him again. "Stop breaking my heart and go to Amma," he teased gently as he handed her to his mother. "I have to go, baby."

Ariel grinned as she wrapped her arms around her grandmother's neck and her twin squirmed out of his mother's arms and moved to where Toothless had righted himself. The dragon lowered his head and touched it to the boy's forehead in what was becoming their habit. Aiden set his hands on either side of Toothless face, then pulled back and stared at the dragon as if he had something really important to say, but no words came.

Hiccup crouched by Aiden and did the same thing, touching their foreheads together. "You take care of Amma and I'll take care of Toothless, right?" he said quietly, as he did every morning.

Aiden nodded solemnly, held out his hand and they grasped forearms, then the boy kissed his father's cheek and ran back to his mother.

They watched Hiccup mount Toothless and Astrid said, "If you see Gobber, tell him to come by for supper, and don't forget you have to name the Gizurson baby today at noon!"

"I won't." Hiccup and Toothless took to the air and he waved. "Love you!"

Astrid sighed contentedly as everyone waved back, before returning inside.

"I can get the kids settled if you want to head out, Astrid," Valka offered as she laid a fur mat on the floor with some toys and settled Ariel upon it.

"Thanks, Mom." Astrid set Aiden next to his sister and grabbed her fur off the wall and her axe. "I've a class first thing, then a few odds and sods, but I'll be back around lunch."

"I'll have it ready for you, dear." Valka could now make that promise with an easy heart as her cooking had improved by leaps and bounds, thanks to both her son and Gobber, who had been patiently giving her lessons.

It was wonderful to be depended on by her son and Astrid, to be part of the family, and she was finally having the chance to experience motherhood properly; at least a portion of it; now that there was Aiden and Ariel.

Astrid stepped outside, whistled, then walked into the small detached tack room and pulled down her dragon's saddle. A moment later Stormfly appeared and started to sniff around her, suspiciously.

"I don't have any chicken!" she laughed as she swatted the Nadder's nose, then leaned in and whispered. "I'll get you some for lunch, promise." Stormfly nudged her affectionately and lowered so that Astrid could properly attach the saddle.

"Be careful!" Valka waved as the pair took to the sky.


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm Back! Sorry for the wait, will try and get at least one more chapter in before Christmas, then may not have a chance until after New Years. Anyway, hope you enjoy and if so, please, please review._

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><p>"Lead with your foot, Mildi!" Astrid ordered, as she stood in her battle gear, her feet planted firmly apart and her hands on her hips. Her morning class had gone very well, but her afternoon students were a hassle. "Gustav, lock your wrist or she'll..." She sighed as the young woman quickly disarmed the smaller man and knocked him down on the hard ground of the training arena.<p>

"That wasn't fair!" Gustav insisted as he scrambled up. "The sun was in my eyes!"

"What a crock!" Mildi scoffed and smirked at him as she leaned on her axe.

"Gustav, you have to learn to fight in all conditions," Astrid insisted. "You can't be distracted by things such as sunlight, birds or a rock falling on your head." Astrid knocked him in the head to demonstrate. "Pay attention to her feet and not what's under her skirt."

Both of her students flushed.

"Why do I even need to know this stuff? I'm already a dragon rider, and Fanghook can destroy anyone that comes near..."

"Are you a Viking or a dragon?"

Gustav blinked. "A...a Viking."

"Well, Vikings know how to fight with their hands and with weapons. You can't always rely on your dragon."

"Hiccup doesn't have to fight, he relies on Toothless all the time and I can do that with..."

Astrid grabbed Gustav by the tunic and yanked him forward; he was already twenty-one but barely came up to her shoulder. "Hiccup can still fight without Toothless," she insisted, quickly correcting whatever misconception the kid had about their Chief being weak in any way.

"Yeah, with his inventions, not with any real weapons..."

"Those weapons came after he had already trained with the traditional ones, Gustav. He knows how to use a sword, a shield and a bow. He can even get by with an axe, when he has too. Don't think for one minute that he didn't work damn hard, harder than you in fact, to learn how to use all of them; just as all Vikings must."

"Jeeze," Gustav stepped back when she released him. "I didn't mean it that he was, y'know, not...I mean I know Chief is a total badass, I just..." He stared at the heavy axe in his hand. "I don't see the point. We're at peace now, right?"

"We never stay at peace, and it's time you learned that." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Now, go again."

The students moved back into their beginning stances, then spotted Hiccup and Toothless entering the training arena. The Night Fury landed beside his wife and the rider smiled.

"How is it going, guys?"

"Fine."

"Horrible."

"You only say that because you can't hold onto your axe," Mildi snorted.

"It's heavy and awkward! Can't we use something else?"

Hiccup felt skinny boy's pain; he had never been very good with an axe either. It had to be rough growing up with Snotlout as a mentor, especially since Gustav was so not like the broad, muscular Viking.

"Let me see you swing it, Gustav."

Gustav flushed, despite what he had said earlier he did not want to show how badly skilled he was in front of the Chief. "Um...Do I have to?"

Hiccup understood the young man's hesitation completely, he had been there himself. He slid off of Toothless, as Stormfly sauntered over and sniffed a greeting to her friend. Hiccup set his hand on the Gustav's shoulder and pointed towards the targets across the arena. "Try to hit one of those for me."

Gustav grumbled but walked over, and threw the axe from an appropriate distance. It missed the target completely.

Hiccup retrieved one of the smaller axes from the weapons rack and handed it to Gustav. "Try this one."

Gustav threw it again, hit just left of the target. "See? I so completely suck."

Hiccup walked to the target, pulled out the axe and returned it to the boy. "Which hand does it feel lighter in?"

"What?"

"The axe, which hand holds it more comfortably?"

"Um..." Gustav passed the weapon back and forth trying to decide. "It...it seems a little heavier in my right hand, I guess."

"Thought so. Throw with your left."

Gustav blinked. "But...I'm right handed!"

"Just try it."

Gustav shrugged, took a deep breath and threw. The axe hit just outside of center. "I...I did it," he murmured in surprise.

"Great job!" Hiccup cheered.

"How...How did I do that?"

"Yeah?" Astrid agreed moving towards them. "He hasn't been able to hit a single target yet!"

"He just needed a lighter, smaller axe, like the one I use," Hiccup explained as he patted Gustav's shoulder again. "And his left leg is a little bit shorter than his right, which was throwing off his balance when he threw with his right hand."

"How...how did you notice that?" Gustav demanded, appalled. "Only my mom knows about that! Did she tell you?"

"No, but I'm left-handed, and when I lost this..." Hiccup indicated his metal leg. "I found I had the same trouble using an axe and had to learn how to throw with my right hand instead. It was actually Gobber who told me to switch hands, as he's also gone through it. "

Gustav stared at him in awe, then pulled back, took a deep breath and threw the axe again. Once more he was close to center. "Wow. I can't believe I'm actually able to hit it!"

"Sure, you just needed a minor adjustment and some confidence."

Astrid smirked even though her eyes glistened for a moment as she thought of how much Hiccup reminded her of Stoick just then. "Maybe you should be teaching this class then, Chief?" she teased.

"No way, you're the battle expert." Hiccup grinned and climbed back onto Toothless. "Do you have a few minutes for a ride, Milady? I wanted to show you something."

Astrid nodded, set her axe its place on Stormfly's saddle and climbed aboard. "Practice those exercises I gave you yesterday," she told her students. "Use the wooden weapons and the shields, I don't want to come back and find you missing limbs."

"But peg legs are sexy," Mildi teased as she grinned at Hiccup. "Right, Chief?"

"Fine I'll rip yours off as soon as I get back," Astrid warned, watching her husband flush. "For flirting with my guy."

Mildi blushed and giggled as both dragons took to the air. She sighed as she watched them fly off. "I wanna find a man like the Chief. He's so awesome and he really knows how to treat a woman."

"Hey, you've got a man standing right here!" Gustav offered boldly.

"Pulease, you're not even a tadpole compared to him."

"Yeah? Well...you're not exactly rolling in femininity, y'know!"

Mildi's cheeks darkened again. "You're such a jerk!"

"Back at ya!"

They moved in unison to clash their axes.

Stormfly and Toothless flew side by side over the water.

"So, what's so important that you felt the need to drag me away from class?"

"I just wanted some time with my best girl, something wrong with that?"

"Not at all." Astrid smiled. "Seen the kids?" the Chief's children were beloved by all the people of Berk, so while Valka was often designated to watch them during the day, so many others often wanted to visit with them that by supper time the twins had usually traversed the entire village, with either their grandmother, Gobber or Fin.

"Yeah, they're with my mom and Fin at the shop. She likes that they enjoy chewing on the leather, helps flatten it for her designs."

"Well, Ariel will bite anything that's put near her mouth."

"She, reminds me of you, actually."

"Stormfly, smack him." Stormfly playfully swung her wing, but Toothless, anticipating, dipped low and she missed.

Hiccup grinned, rubbed his dragon's head. "Thanks, bud."

"I do not bite!"

"No, you hit, but since Ariel isn't strong enough for that yet, I figure she's using whatever works."

"You're so mean!"

They turned east and flew silently through the clouds for several lovely moments.

"Babe?"

"Hmmmm?"

"I'm gonna say something, but if you ever repeat it to another living soul I'll rip your heart out and feed it to you."

"Oh...kay."

She sighed. "I miss Snotlout and Ruffnut."

He nodded. "Me too, but I think it was a good decision on their part to go with Eret."

Eret had decided he preferred life at sea to life on an island, and so he was in charge of the southern trading ships; assisting in both the heavy hauling of fish, as well as the collaboration, trading and deliveries for other goods.

Snotlout became Eret's first mate and had taken Ruffnut with him; after his father passed away two winters ago from pneumonia. It had been over a year since Hiccup and Astrid had seen their friends.

"Well, he always wanted to be Chief, so I think it was hard for him to stay here."

"I don't think he was as haunted by that as he was before," Astrid decided. "I think it was more that he didn't feel useful here. His Dad was always spouting stuff like Snotlout had to be better than everyone else, had to make a name for himself. He was an overbearing man who only cared about what was good for him than what was good for his son."

"Don't speak ill of the dead."

"It's not speaking ill if it's the truth."

"Astrid."

"Fine! Sorry Odin! Sorry Spitelout!" She smiled. "What I mean is, it was nice of you to give Snotlout this chance to make a name for himself, to see what he could do."

"It was his decision; I had nothing to do with it."

Astrid smirked. "Don't give me that. I know you were the one who suggested Snotlout to Eret."

"Hey, any chance to get Snotlout off the island and away from me is a good thing."

"You miss him, admit it."

"Maybe, a tiny bit," Hiccup conceded, even though he actually missed Snotlout and Ruffnut far more than he had originally conceived. But, after all, they were his teammates. "He'll probably come back and be even more impossible to deal with."

Astrid nodded. "Probably, so I'll just have to knock him down to size again."

"_That's_ something to look forward to."

They were quiet for awhile, just flying and enjoying the silence and each other, then they both flew back towards the island and over the Training Academy. The dragons landed just outside the entrance of the arena, which was now guarded by a stone statue of Fishlegs holding a carved likeness of The Book of Dragons.

Astrid slid off of Stormfly and watched as Hiccup's gaze settled on the image of his friend. She reached up and took his hand in hers.

"I can't believe it's been four years already," he murmured. "There are still days when I'm working on a new invention and I find myself halfway to his house to share it with him, before I remember."

Astrid understood how hard it had been for Hiccup to lose Fishlegs. Toothless was his best friend, but he was a dragon, and they could only communicate so well. She was his wife and Right Hand, the other riders were teammates, and Gobber was like a second father to him, but no one else really understood his passion for dragons and for inventing things. Not the way Fishlegs had.

With Fishlegs, Hiccup had found a fellow dragon lover and future enthusiast. They would spend hours updating their dragon knowledge or trading ideas for things that could be developed. Astrid loved everything about Hiccup, but even she could not feel that same passion for the things he and Fishlegs shared.

"I'm sorry, babe."

Hiccup shrugged. "It's life, right?" He sighed again, heavily. "Sorry, Astrid. I didn't mean to get maudlin."

"He was your best friend, Hiccup."

Toothless snorted in defense and Astrid rubbed his nose. "His best human friend, sweetie," she told the dragon. "Of course you're his best, best friend."

Toothless huffed, then purred and pressed against her hand.

Hiccup's fingers curled around Toothless' saddle. "Sometimes...sometimes I wish I could bring Drago back, just so we could kill him again."

Astrid rubbed Hiccup's back. "I know. He stole a lot from both of us, but who knows what the Gods have in store. I'm sure you'll find someone to be that close to again. I just know it."

Hiccup wasn't so sure, he knew everyone on Berk at this point, and there simply was no one else like Fishlegs. Plus, as Chief, no one really felt it was their place to get too close to him. Still, he nodded at his wife. "Sure. Of course." He leaned down, kissed her. "Get back to your students, and don't be so hard on Gustav. It's hard being a Hiccup."

She grinned. "Hiccup's have to work the hardest because they are the best."

He rewarded himself by watching the gentle sway of her hips as she walked to the entrance until she and Stormfly disappeared inside. Sometimes it was hard on their sex life having a houseful of people.

"Come on, bud. Lots more work for us to do."

Toothless took a running leap and moments later they were flying once again.

The sun was setting, and Hiccup had spent hours walking or flying around the island to tend to his duties. He'd had no time to spend with Gobber in the forge today, but then the Blacksmith didn't really intend for Hiccup to keep up his job there now that he was Chief. Still, as his father had instructed, no job was too slight, no request to small when you were a Chief. He tried to spend at least a few hours a week working beside Gobber, for himself more than anything else; to keep him grounded and remind him of what he once was.

For now, he had to get home to his kids and supper , as he had promised Astrid that they would try to eat together as a family at least twice a day. Crap! He was supposed to ask Gobber to supper! Well, looks like he was headed to the forge after all.

He turned east back the way he had come, then noticed a shadow moving across the water. What was that? Had one of their smaller boats broken loose from the dock? Berk was too far away from the other tribes for anyone to brave the north seas in such an insignificant craft.

Urging Toothless back over the water, he acknowledged the warning in his head that it could be trouble. Gone was his nativity that all strangers could become friends; or that all people could be reasoned with. He would not make that mistake again.

As he neared the vessel, he saw two forms lying across the bottom of the boat; one was wrapped in the arms of the other, neither of them was moving. The one who was being held was an older woman, probably mid-forties or fifties, with very long flowing, dark hair riddled with silver streaks; she looked very small and fragile against the larger, dark haired young man holding her.

"What's up, Chief?"

Hiccup turned and spotted Gobber flying towards him on Grump. "What are you doing out here?"

"I saw you head out, and I was curious." Both men looked down into the craft as they hovered high above it. "Oh, well then. Think their dead?"

"I don't know. They haven't moved since I got here, so maybe."

"Do ye think it's plague?"

"Not sure..." They'd heard that a plague had hit one of the southern islands, but so far nothing had come here. Still, they needed to be careful. "Maybe we can..." He stopped as the young man's eyes fluttered open and dark obsidian met sea green. "They're alive!"

"Hiccup, wai..." Gobber began, but Hiccup had already lowered Toothless into the water beside the boat and reached out his hand.

"It's okay," he soothed as the man reared back at the sight of dragons. "We won't hurt you, we're here to help."

"M...my mother," the man gasped, as if he had not spoken in quite some time.

"We'll help her too," Hiccup assured kindly. "Let me have her, she can ride with me. I promise you she'll be safe."

The woman woke suddenly, and eyes the color of sapphires reached towards Hiccup, and the young Chief flinched as if he has been pierced by some unseen arrow; a strong feeling of recognition.

"Are you...?" she began in a voice that longed for water. "Are you the son of Stoick?"

"Yes."

She reached a small hand towards him. "Thank the Gods," she said as she moved towards him, then collapsed again almost immediately.


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry it has been so long between updates everyone. I just have a lot going on and almost no inspiration to write. Sorry it is just a short chapter, I will try and get more up soon. Anyway hope you enjoy, and if so please review. Thanks for your patience._

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><p>Hiccup entered his home, found the house was quiet and lit only by a candle on the table and a fire in the hearth. On the table, next to the candle, a dish with a cloth covering it, and beside the fire was his lovely wife was in her rocking chair, with a wool throw tossed about her shoulders.<p>

Toothless tilted his head and whined. _That is not a good place for Hiccup's mate to sleep. Her tail will surely be sore in the morning._

Hiccup scratched his friend's neck. "I'll bring her up to bed, bud, you go on up and try not to wake the kids."

Toothless whined again quietly headed up the stairs as Hiccup pulled off his cloak, walked over to the table, lifted the cloth and smiled at the plate of food beneath it. He picked up the cold chicken leg, perched on the table and ate as he watched Astrid sleep.

The two strangers he and Gobber had picked up and brought back to Berk had been dropped at Djor's home to be treated. The woman had not awakened again, after her brief moment in the boat. Her son had collapsed the moment he knew that his mother was in the hands of a healer.

Both he and Gobber had questions of course, who they were and where they came from, but could not ask them in their current state. Hiccup had learned from the past, he could not assume they were friendly, but nor could he have left them out there on the sea to die. He had been shocked when they had evoked his father's name, shocked and curious, and perhaps a little been fearful.

Gobber had insisted on staying at Djor's, just in case their new visitors meant to cause trouble, and Hiccup did not argue. He had been too tired to argue, his mind too filed with new questions that he had no answers for, too worried about what the woman's connection was to his father and why he found her so strangely familiar.

Besides that, were all the duties of his day and all that he would do tomorrow, along with that constant nagging uncertainty of whether he was being a good father to his children. His own father had spent so much time taking care of the people of Berk, that Hiccup had rarely seen him. It had been Gothi that had cared for him when he was a babe, after his mother had been taken by a dragon; she was really the only mother he had known until Valka had returned.

Once he was older, Gobber had become his caregiver, especially when Stoick had to go on a trip with his men, sometimes he was gone for months at a time. But Stoick had never really neglected him. Most of the time, his father had still been the one to put him to bed at night, to change his dirty nappies and to bathe him when necessary. They ate breakfast and dinner together, whenever Stoick was home, and his father was always there to have him fitted for new clothes when he grew out of his old ones, which wasn't all that often really.

So Stoick had been present, but it had been a silent presence, a fleeting presence that even now caused an ache inside Hiccup's heart. Aside from the generalities of speech, his father had never really talked to him, not the way Gobber did. Gobber talked and listened to him, while Stoick talked at him not with him, and almost never listened to anything Hiccup said back. He supposed his father was just trying to do what he thought was best, but it still left Hiccup feeling more of a disappointment.

Stoick had tried to teach Hiccup how to be a Viking, how to wield a sword and shield, how to fight dragons, but he'd given up very early on because of Hiccup's frailty and clumsiness. Hiccup had always felt rather rejected by how quickly his father had given up on him, and left him more and more often in the hands of Gobber; especially during dragon attacks.

Things had gotten better after Toothless came, he and Stoick became closer and more like a father and son should be, but there was still that gap between them from years before. For all of that, he had loved his father so very dearly, worshiped him really, and perhaps because of that, he would never resent his father's absences during his childhood.

Even as a youngster he understood that to be Chief was an important job, so if anything his admiration for his father continued to grow; and made him work so much harder to make Stoick proud. Now that he was Chief, he understood the pressure and demands his father had faced even more. Granted he had managed to modify and modernize much of life on Berk, but there was still just so much to do.

Hiccup never wanted his children to feel neglected. He never wanted them to feel unworthy or like they were in the way. He wanted them to know how very much they were loved and adored and most importantly he wanted them to be children, to act and behave and think as children for as long as it was possible. Because of who his father was, and the way he was raised, Hiccup had learned to become independent at a very early age. He had stopped being a child, stopped thinking like a child before the age of eight. There was no way he would allow that to happen with his children.

He finished off his dinner, wiped his hands on the cloth then carefully leaned down and pulled Astrid into his arms. She woke the moment he lifted her.

"You're late," she murmured sleepily as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I know, I'm sorry." He blew out the candle and using the glow of the firelight started up the stairs. "Something came up."

"What?"

"Just a minute," he said as he fairly tip towed past the beds of the sleeping twins, with a single dragon's eye watching them, and into their half of the loft. He settled Astrid on their bed, then started to help her remove her day gear. "Gobber and I found two people floating in a boat on the outskirts of the island. It looks like they'd been at sea for days."

"Who are they?" Astrid asked quietly, so as not to wake their children, and lifted her arms so her husband could pull tunic off. "Where do they come from?"

"Not sure yet." Hiccup crouched and unlaced Astrid's boots and leggings. "They're with Djor right now, he suspects they were dehydrated, malnourished and suffering from the cold."

Astrid leaned forward and started to pull off Hiccup's armour. "Did they say anything, like what tribe they were from or where they were headed?"

Hiccup rose, set his armour in the shelf and shrugged out of his tunic. "They didn't say much except to ask if I was the son of Stoick."

Astrid's eyes widened. "They knew your dad?"

"I don't know if they knew him personally or just knew of him." He settled on the bed beside her to remove his leg. "I'll have to wait to question them until they are in better shape. Gobber is staying at Djor's with them for now."

Astrid pulled on a long night shirt, then gasped at the redness of Hiccup's stump. "Oh, babe! Does it hurt?"

"A little, I was walking too much today."

She opened a small wall cabinet, pulled out a jar of ointment, then knelt before him. "You need to slow down, Hiccup. You don't have to do everything in one day, you know."

He smirked at her, then sighed in relief as she lathered the salve onto his stump, relieved that he had gotten over his shyness about showing it to her, because having her massage the soreness from what remained of his leg was pure bliss.

"I'm sorry I missed dinner."

"It happens, we understand."

"I promised to be home."

Astrid looked up at him. "Babe, you can't be everywhere. Things come up, it's fine."

"Astrid?" He caught her hands, held them in both of his as he stared down at her. "Am...Am I a good father?"

Her mouth opened in shock, then she quickly closed it. "Of course you are, you're a great father, Hiccup!" She rose, settled beside him and out her arm around his shoulders. "Why would you even ask something like that?"

He shrugged, ashamed for doubting himself. "I don't know. Just...a long day I guess. Too much to think about."

She rubbed his back, kissed his cheek and took hold of his hand again. "Well, that is one thing you don't ever have to worry about. Our children are happy and healthy and totally in love with their daddy."

Hiccup smiled, but it faded quickly as he stared down at their joined hands. "I do worry. I worry about Aiden." He lifted his gaze to hers. "I'm trying to be patient, Astrid. I want to let him find his voice at his own pace, but..."

He was afraid. Afraid that he would unintentionally compare Aiden to other children, afraid he would accidentally somehow put pressure on Aiden to be better than he was.

"Hiccup, even if Aiden never speaks a word. Even if Ariel eats all the hair off of her head..." Astrid cupped his cheek, lovingly. "They are here. They survived against the odds and they are _our_ children. They will be loved and cherished as only we can love and cherish them."

Hiccup nodded and pulled her into his arms. "I love you," he sighed. "And I love our children. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"You're tired." She held him close and brushed her hand through his hair. "You always get maudlin when you're over tired, babe."

"I am." He pulled back, cradled her face. "But not so tired that I can't love you. Let me love you, Astrid. When I hold you all my troubles seem to fade away."

She smiled, helped him off with his trousers and laid him back on the bed. "Then hold me, my love."

"Mommy!"

Hiccup moaned in defeat and flopped back as Astrid giggled and hopped up.

"Ah, the joys of parenthood."

Hiccup stared up at the ceiling and realized the truth in her statement. Joy. Yes, there was definitely joy.


End file.
